Chintz at the V&A

Spanning four centuries of creativity, Chintz rediscovers the story of South Indian chintz, a fabric created by hand-drawing designs on cotton. Over the 1600s and 1700s, global desire for South Indian chintz saw the fabric consumed on every continent and at every level of society, making it one of the most coveted, copied and contentious fabrics in history. Loved, hated and continually rediscovered, the legacy of chintz has endured for over 400 years and continues to influence global creative practice today. This groundbreaking exhibition explores chintz through a radical new lens – not as a consumer product, but as a form of art akin to painting and drawing. Bringing together the world-class chintz collection of the V&A with the exceptional private collection of Karun Thakar, it celebrates the South Indian makers of chintz as among the most influential artists in art and design history.